It mainly occupies women in the northern part of the country through the production and marketing of shea butter and other derived products.

To support this empowerment of rural women through this sector prized by the food industry and in cosmetics, a distribution of 30 tons is planned throughout the country.

The first delivery of 5.5 tons of shea from Burkina Faso was made this Wednesday, October 17 in Dapaong (North-Togo) by the Minister of Agriculture, Ouro-Koura Agadazi.

According to him, “it is 5.5t of the promised 30 tons, an initiative taken by the government to boost shea sector in Togo.” It will be extended to other regions like Kara and Centrale early in 2019.

Ranked the world's 7th largest shea producer, the country has recently joined the Global Shea Alliance and is hoping for funding from several partners to support the process of sustainability of this sector and contribute in particular to winning the challenge of economic empowerment of rural women.

Shea and its derivative products are among many others that enjoy an easy right of access to the US market through the provisions of AGOA.

Referring to an independent study by LMC International, an international agribusiness consulting firm commissioned by the Global Shea Alliance and USAID, shea exports increased from 50,000 tons to over 350,000 tons per year over the past 20 years.

This growth is due to increased use of shea in global food and cosmetics markets. The increase in these exports generates more than $ 200 million in direct and indirect incomes for shea producing communities.